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Represent Los Gatos Oral History Project |
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The Local History Collection of the Los Gatos Library holds historically valuable documents that help tell the story of the Town of Los Gatos. However, the stories of Black, Indigenous, people of color are underrepresented in this collection. The Library acknowledges that without the voices of the BIPOC community, it is not possible to paint a complete picture of the history of the Town. In 2020, the Los Gatos Library launched the Represent Los Gatos Oral History Project to fill these gaps in the collection and to allow members of the community to share their own stories. We invite you to visit the Represent Los Gatos Oral History Project collection online, |
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Aiko's Story
Watch this interview with Aiko Sato, who grew up in Los Gatos on the Yuki farm. Hear her experiences moving to Los Gatos after growing up in Salinas and then being relocated to a Japanese internment camp in Poston, Arizona. She details her experiences going to school in Los Gatos, playing with her family members on the farm and in the Los Gatos Creek, and her life beyond Los Gatos High School building a career and engaging in Town activities like jazzercise.
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Jun's StoryJun “JJ” Sasaki was born in Watsonville, where he and his family lived on the Martinelli Ranch until they were forcibly relocated to the Poston War Relocation Center in Poston, Arizona. His mother, Marion Chiyoe Sasaki was born in Wrights Station in the Santa Cruz mountains. Her father, Saburo Yoneji, sold his ranch to the Radonich family. You can see his name on the bottom side of the corrugated roofing on the western end of the shed he built on the current Radonich Ranch. After retiring and selling the ranch, they moved to Japan, where Marion was married to Jitsu Sasaki. Together, they later moved from Japan to Watsonville. After the family was released from internment, they returned to the Carmel Valley.
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Bob's Story Listen to Robert (Bob) Hideo Idemoto's story. Born in San Jose, Bob grew up in Los Gatos with his family. He attended school in Town, but during World War II, his family was relocated to an internment camp in Heart Mountain, Wyoming - all because of their Japanese heritage. Hear Bob's stories from growing up in Los Gatos to living in the camp, and coming back to Los Gatos to settle back into schooling and later becoming the senior class president of Los Gatos High School in 1950. Enjoy listening to Bob's stories and memories.
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Janet's Story Janet Chang was born in San Francisco. In 1959, after the fifth grade, she moved to the Ming Quong Home in Los Gatos and remained there until 1961. Listen to Janet's story as she details the circumstances that brought her to Ming Quong, and her life beyond the two years she spent in Los Gatos. Janet's story paints an accurate picture of what life at Ming Quong was like, and how her time there shaped the rest of her life. After a successful career in public health, she finds herself volunteering at the Butter Paddle in Los Gatos, which benefits Uplift Family Services, the organization that took over Eastfield Ming Quong. Listen to her story and see some pictures from her life that are shared at the end. Janet also participated in the Los Gatos Library's Digital Storytelling program in 2018.
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Gilbert's Story Watch and listen to Gilbert Mesa's story of growing up and living in Los Gatos. Gil talks extensively of his family history, childhood, experiences with prejudice, graduating from Los Gatos High School in 1960, experiences conducting business, and the mark that his family has left on the Town of Los Gatos. Enjoy listening to Gil's story.
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Lynel's Story Lynel Gardner was born in San Francisco but was raised by his great aunt and uncle in East Palo Alto and then in the Mountain View and Santa Clara areas. He details his childhood and adolescence, his family life, his heritage, and growing up to become an artist in Los Angeles. He shares about his experiences in performance art with the Hittite Empire and the plays he has written and performed. Learn how he landed in Los Gatos in the 1980s, hear about his experiences working in Town in the Recreation Center, and more. Lynel's interview includes honest conversation on the diversity of the Town, as he recounts his encounters with other members of the community at local protests and rallies for racial justice and encounters with law enforcement as well.
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Nona's Story Nona Mock Wyman, author of “Chopstick Childhood,” “Bamboo Women,” and “Ten Thousand Flowers,” was born in San Francisco. By the time she was two years old, she was transferred to the Ming Quong Home in Los Gatos, an orphanage for Chinese girls led by the Presbyterian Mission. Nona lived in the MQ Home until she was about 13, when she was then transferred to the Oakland home for girls. Hear her stories from the Los Gatos home, and the “radiant light” she was shared with many others beyond her time in Los Gatos. Included is also a short reading from her book, “Chopstick Childhood.”
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Elena's Story
Elena Lim was born in Marysville, California, and was orphaned when she was only a year old. As a young child she lived with a few different families in San Francisco Chinatown, and then lived in the Ming Quong Home from 1953 to 1958 when the Los Gatos home closed. Hear about her inspiring journey, as she details accounts of her school days, her times at the Ming Quong Home, working in the education field, and making a difference in many students' lives.
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Emie's Story
Emiko (Emie) Yuki Yamate spent the first several years of her life on a farm in Salinas, but after her family was forced to relocate to Poston, Arizona at an internment camp during World War II, they were not welcomed back to Salinas. Instead, her family settled in Los Gatos. Hear her story, and what a mark her family has made on the Town of Los Gatos.
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Dale's Story Dale Wong was born in San Mateo and spent her early years in San Francisco. Her father passed away when she was 5 years old, and because her mother was older and had little means of support, Dale was sent to live in the Ming Quong Home in Los Gatos until she was 10 years old. While at Ming Quong, her to-be foster parents, the Schmidts, would visit and take the girls, including Dale, on outings. When the Ming Quong Home was closing, the Schmidts welcomed Dale into their home and became her foster parents. Listen to her story, and see some wonderful photos at the end, which show Dale and many others who resided in the Ming Quong home.
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Vertebrate Pest Management for your Yard and Garden – UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County Thursday, April 8, 5 PM Is something eating your tomatoes? Do your carrots disappear into the ground without a trace? Are your apricots gone AWOL? There may be vertebrate pests in your garden, yard, house or neighborhood. Rats, squirrels, gophers, and other critters can wreak havoc on our vegetable gardens. This hour-long online talk with Master Gardener Hank Morales will help you learn humane and safe ways to prevent the damage and save the vegetables for your table |
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Earth Day Watercolor Paint Along with Zoë van Duivenbode Tuesday, April 13, 6 PM Zoë van Duivenbode is an Indonesian-American artist who works with watercolor, pen and ink, clay, and digital mediums. Her work is inspired by the natural wonders of the planet, especially the ocean. Zoë is passionate about the environment and uses visual art as a platform to share its beauty and advocate for its protection. During this program, she will share her love of the ocean with participants while guiding them through the motions of painting with watercolors. After the program, participants will walk away with a flowy ocean themed painting and inspiration to visit the beach for Earth Day. Please have the following supplies ready to paint along during the program:
Paper (ideally watercolor paper), a pencil and pen, a few paint brushes ranging from medium to small, and a watercolor paint set. |
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Poetry Exchange
Sunday, April 18, 1:00pm Zoom Please join us at the Poetry Exchange: Zoom Edition! Each month, we invite a featured poet to share their work, followed by an Open Mic. Bring a poem or two to share or just enjoy some poetry in the comfort of your own home! Hosted by Lesa Medley. Email lcmedley016@gmail.com to receive the Zoom invitation. |
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Plant-Based Cooking with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau Wednesday, April 28, 5:00 PM Zoom Registration required In collaboration with Plant-Based Advocates, the library is offering a virtual cooking program with plant-based Bay Area Chef Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, author of The Joyful Vegan and many other publications. "Plant-Based Advocates is a grassroots group that is working to mitigate climate change by reducing the traditional reliance on meat and dairy. They take action in the community by helping restaurants increase their plant-based options, working with local politicians, and sharing plant-based meals with unhoused communities". The Zoom link and the informational sheet will be sent to all the registrants several days before the event so that each participant has time to gather the necessary ingredients. |
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ESL Conversation Club Wednesdays at 11am 2021 Looking to improve your English language skills? Join our ESL Conversation Club for adults on Wednesdays at 11 AM over the Zoom platform! Click here for the link to join. Password: 033836 or Call in 1 (215) 861-0674 1 (888) 398-2342 (US Toll Free) Conference code: 589749 |
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 Monday Morning Virtual Book Club Monday April 5th at 11:00 AM Join in on the morning virtual book club discussion! We'll be discussing The Hare With Amber Eyes by Edmund De Waal over Zoom. Find the book on CloudLibrary or place it on hold today! Click here for the Zoom link Password: 833651 Or Call In 1 (215) 861-0674 1 (888) 398-2342 (US Toll Free) Conference code: 589749 |
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Tuesday Evening Virtual Book Club Tuesday April 20 at 6:30 PM Zoom Join us for a book discussion of "The Hidden Life of Trees" by Peter Wohlleben. Contact Grace, gsong@losgatosca.gov if you'd like a copy. |
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Facebook Live Storytimes! Tuesday and Friday at 11AM Calling all babies, toddlers, and preschoolers! Join us for some books and songs every Tuesday and Friday at 11AM. At storytime we build community and early literacy skills through play, singing, and reading together. Go to the Los Gatos Library's Facebook page here to access our library of Storytime videos. |
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Los Gatos Library StoryWalk® Friday, April 23 at 11 AM Facebook Live Join Mayor Sayoc, our Storytime Librarians, and other Town Staff on Facebook as we share the Los Gatos Library StoryWalk® in Oak Meadow Park. We’ll be reading “Little Humans” by Brandon Stanton as we walk along the creek and through the park. Join us for our Facebook Storytime, then visit Oak Meadow Park to read the book yourself! And tag us in your stories and photos to show us all the fun you have had! |
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Step Into Spanish! / ¡Salta al Español! Wednesday, April 14, 11:00am Wednesday April 28, 11:00am Build your child’s Spanish vocabulary through songs and stories with Librarian Daniel. Each episode, we will learn new words, sing new songs, and read new stories to help build vocabulary while having fun! |
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The Night Sky With Exit Wounds Ocean Vuong
Night Sky with Exit Wounds is a collection of poetry by Vietnamese American poet and author Ocean Vuong. The book won the T. S. Eliot Prize. Looking at a range of subjects of romance, family, memory, grief, war, and melancholia Ocean Vuong artfully demonstrate his skill with the written word. |
Feed Tommy Pico Feed is the fourth book in the Teeb's tetralogy.It's an epistolary recipe for the main character, a poem of nourishment, and a jaunty walk through New York's High Line park, with the lines, stanzas, paragraphs, dialogue, and registers approximating the park's cultivated gardens of wildness. Among its questions, Feed asks what's the difference between being alone and being lonely? Can you ever really be friends with an ex? How do you make perfect mac & cheese? Feed is an ode of reconciliation to the wild inconsistencies of a northeast spring, a frustrating season of back-and-forth, of thaw and blizzard, but with a faith that even amidst the mess, it knows where it's going. |
Postcolonial Love Poem Natalie Diaz Girl, Women, Other follows the lives of 12 characters in the United Kingdom over the course of several decades. The book is divided into four chapters, each containing episodes about three women who are connected directly to one another in some way. |
Taberna y otros lugares by Roque Dalton Winning Casa de las Américas prize in 1969 Roque Dalton's work is focuses on on his time in Prague, where he witnessed the popular uprising and the Soviet invasion in 1968. |
Milk and Honey Rupi Kaur Milk and Honey is a collection of poetry and prose by Rupi Kaur. The collection is about survival, love, family and self discovery. The work is divided into sections, with each section serving a different purpose and relevance to Kaur’s experience. |
Dont Read Poetry Justina Ireland In Don't Read Poetry, award-winning poet and literary critic Stephanie Burt offers an accessible introduction to the seemingly daunting task of reading, understanding, and appreciating poetry. Burt dispels preconceptions about poetry and explains how poems speak to one another--and how they can speak to our lives. She shows readers how to find more poems once they have some poems they like, and how to connect the poetry of the past to the poetry of the present. Burt moves seamlessly from Shakespeare and other classics to the contemporary poetry circulated on Tumblr and Twitter. She challenges the assumptions that many of us make about "poetry," whether we think we like it or think we don't, in order to help us cherish--and distinguish among-- individual poems. |
Robert Frost Gary D. Schmidt A collection of poems about the four seasons by one of the best-known American poets. |
Emily Dickinson Frances S. Bolin A collection of poems from the well loved poet Emily Dickinson, and edited by Frances S. Bolin. |
 Crafting Table  |
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Thanks to the California State Library and the Friends of the Los Gatos Library, you can now check out Art Kits, which come with a variety of supplies that can be borrowed and used to make your own art projects. All you will need to do is return the supplies, but keep your own project. Kits will include: Mini Canvas Kits, Papermaking Kits, Canvas Board Kits, and Watercolor Kits for painting activities, as well as EZ-Cut Stamp Kits (ages 18+) for another medium that you may want to try. This initiative supports reusing, recycling, and sharing resources, to promote a greener community. It also encourages our community to keep on expressing creativity through the visual arts. |
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Looking for something to do with your free time at home over spring break? Want to learn a new art technique, find crafting ideas, start a nature journal, enhance your gardening skills, or just listen to a jazz concert? We’ve got you covered! Check our YouTube playlist of on-demand library programs, providing fun for all ages and abilities. |
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Virtual Knitting Circle Are you interested in joining a monthly virtual knitting circle, where you can learn new knitting techniques, get help from other knitters, and carve out some time to make your own fiber art? We would love to have you join! Fill out this survey to let us know your interest level and availability here! |
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Say hi to Robert, our Library Technology Specialist. He can often be found behind the reference desk or fixing a computer problem. Roberts favorite part of the job is meeting members of the public and help people with things that they need, especially helping kids find the books that make them happy. Check out what is on his reading list this month, and place one or two on hold or check them out on the hoopla app. |
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Piranesi by Susanna Clarke From the New York Times bestselling author of Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell, an intoxicating, hypnotic new novel set in a dreamlike alternative reality. Piranesi's house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house. There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known. For readers of Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller's Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds. |
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Doom Patrol by Grant Morrison Flex Mentallo, Robotman, Rebis, Crazy Jane, and more are back to twist minds and take control. This new take on a classic embraces and reimagines the Morrison run's signature surrealism and irreverence. Incorporating bold, experimental art and a brash tone to match a new generation of readers, Gerard Way's DOOM PATROL establishes radical new beginnings, breaks new ground, and honors the warped team dynamic of the world's strangest heroes. This abstract and unexpected ensemble series nods at the Doom Patrol's roots by continuing to break the barriers of the traditional superhero genre. |
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The Hero of ages by Brandon Sanderson Book three of the Mistborn series The Hero of Ages centers in on the groups deals with the repercussions of releasing the evil spirit Ruin while also attempting to close the Well of Ascension. New emperor Elend Venture and his wife, the assassin Vin, are now hard-pressed to save the world. |
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Laptops are back! Have a project you need to get done? Need steady internet? Come to the library. Laptops are available to check out and use on the patio*. Just bring your library card and a USB to download any work you might want to save for later. *Health restrictions still prevent us from offering one on one tech help at this time. |
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BACK TO SCHOOL K-12 Resource: ProQuest eBook Central |
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Here is our newest eBook platform for all your homework needs and all things research. We give a special thanks to the California State Library for generously funding K-12 resources. Just look under Ebooks on our website and scroll to ProQuest eBook Central. *No library card required. If you have any questions, please email or call us! |
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 Job & Career Resources The Los Gatos Library is here to help you with your job search. Browse a list of helpful books that can be reserved and picked up from the library; look through unemployment resources; take advantage of free job search and training resources; and even find help for your small business. Visit our Job & Career Resources page and call, chat or email the library if you need help! |
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 Did you serve our country? Are you a veteran? We have a brand new resource just for you! VetNow is a live coaching tool to help you sign up for your eligible VABenefits. With a special thanks to the California State Library for generously funding these amazing electronic resources. Just look under "Electronic Resources" on our website and scroll to Job Now & Vet Now make sure you have your library card handy. |
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Los Gatos At Home
The Los Gatos Library invites Los Gatos residents to contribute pieces of their lives that document town life during the COVID-19 pandemic to tell the story of Los Gatos during this time of sheltering in place. We are interested in seeing your journeys in staying at home through all the various at-home projects, gardens, hobbies, homeschooling, community service, and now the holidays. What do holidays look like for you and your family this year? What are some other experiences that are different this year? Curated submissions will be made available in our digital collection on History Los Gatos. Click here to see other submissions. Submissions must be digital and may include: Photographs Letters, emails, postcards, and other correspondence Blog posts or social media posts Notices, posters, or signs Creative art such as drawings, paintings, chalk art, poetry, etc. Journal and diary entries
Any person who resides in Los Gatos is welcome to submit materials. We are all in this together, along with the whole world, and we are proud that Los Gatos remains a safe and healthy place for its community. To submit your materials, start here. |
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